Seat frame member for flexible seated chairs



v, WA.

April 3, 1951 G. c. BRIGGS 2,547,559

SEAT FRAME MEMBER FOR FLEXIBLE SEATED CHAIRS Filed Feb. lO, 1947 INVENTOR. Genre@ C. Br/'jj Patented Apr. 3, 1951 UNITED sEA'r.. ERAMEMEMBEREQR. ELEXIBLE sEArrED CHAIRSY George-0.' Briggs, Erie, Pa.. Y

ADDlicatomFebruary, 10, 19.47;.Serial No. 727,682

3` Claims. (Cl. 155-119)- This invention relates, generally to` flexibly seated chairs and more particularly to. novel seat frame portions for exibly seated chairs.

So-calledV beach chairs` and other flexibly seated chairs generally utilized outof doors and foldable have a cross bar on the forward" part of. the chair and a cross bar. on the upper back rest portion ofthe chair with a canvas or cloth member connected to the front crossbar and the Vback cross bar to provide a seat and a back rest.

These chairs have..provedto be` a very comfortgable chair except for thefront` cross bar which engages the underpart of theleg' above theA knee ,to cause ext'remediscomfort,y and if the person is ilexible in nature and is connected to afront cross bar, extreme discomfort is caused' when a person sits in such achair for any lengthvofltime becauseof the pressure exerted byl the, crossbar on .the underside of 1 the` legs in thatthe .cross bar Y `isin the highest point, of elevation.,

It is, accordingly, an object of my inventionto prov-idean-improvedexi-bly seated chair, and it is more particularly an object o'f my invention to provide aileg-v restV for ailexibly seated chair which is simple in construction, economical in cost, ea-sy'to install, economical in manufacture, and very comfortable in use.

Another. objectofmy. invention is to provide a novelfront cross barfor a flexibly seated chair.

Another. object of my. invention is tot provide a-novel leg rest adaptable for.4 use with flexibly seated beach chairs and the like nowv in use.

lOther objects off my invention-will become evident` from the following detailed description,

,taken in conjunction withI the1 accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational View with parts broken away for better illustration of a folding flexibly seated chair with my novel leg rest installed on the front cross bar thereof;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevational view of my novel leg rest for a ilexibly seated chair;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational View of a modified form of leg rest for a flexibly seated chair;

Fig. 4 is another modied end' elevational view of a modified form of leg rest for a flexibly seated chair;

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view of a furtherr modified form of leg'- rest for a flexibly seated cl'lair;`

` Fig: 6'is an end` elevational view of another form of leg` rest fora flexibly seated chair; and

Fig. '7 is; an end" elevational view of another form.of"leg rest fora exiblyseated chair.

Referring'novv'to` the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show. a conventional folding beach chair having a. back rest frame I'with arr upper cross frame member 2;, a seatY frame 3', front legsA 4:-, and` a front cross frame bar-5' of-'the seat frame 3. A flexible. member. 6. chicanvas;V cloth, orthe like, havinggglooped ends' 11 and' 8 isV connected to the cross'bars 5 and 2r to form a seat portion I2 and a back rest portion I3.

Now coming to the gist of my invention, I show disposed" in the loopedV end 'l ofthe member 6 an arcuate shaped, transversely disposed; comparativel'y stiil"member @having the forward end l'thereofbent. downwardly to form an open circular loop to pivotally mount the member son theY cross frame member 5. The rear end Il of the member 9A is crimped so that'itwill'nohcut thecloth, canvas or the like of whichthe member. (ijis made.

In assemblingmy novelzleg rest cna chair such asisshown inFig. 1it will be` evident that it is merely necessary toY place the turnedend I0 of thed memberv 9L aroundthe cross'barl 5 andthe Inasmuch as. the. seat'Y portion I2of'the member 6 isI de- '.pressed'a considerable amount when a person sits tlierein the, mem-berv 9', will` assume. the angular position.. of!` the` seat portion y l2Vv ofthe metrnber 6 and the; member. 9 Will' tend' to move into a 4straight. line althoughitis preferably made stiff yenough so that. there is no substantial change in4 the. curvature, of.' the member '9. .found thatwith. the installationof my novel leg reste, ina conventionalbeach chair or the like,

It' has been the person may sit therein for hours in absolute comforhandu enjoyment.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a modied'form of 'leg rest in which a comparatively stiff arcuate shaped member 2D has the forward end 2| thereof turned upwardly andbackwardly in arcuate shape to form an open looped portion for pivotable connection to a cross bar 22 of any conventional flexibly seated chair such as the chair shown in Fig. 1. Rubber or any other suitable cushioning material 23 is then disposed on or bonded to the arcuate shaped member 20 as shown in Fig. 3 so that the upper portion thereof is slightly arcuate in shape to form a cushioning leg rest. It will thus be evident that this form 3 of leg rest may be disposed on the cross bar 5 in Fig. 1 and perform the same function as the leg rest 9 shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 is another modified form of my novel leg rest wherein a sheet metal or like member 29 is bent back upon itself and formed as shown in Fig. 4 wherein opposing arcuate shaped sides 3B and 3l recede to and merge at a point at 32 at the rear end thereof and the forward'end 33 thereof is in circular shape to conform to the outer curvature of a cross bar 34 as shown in Fig. 4. It will be evident upon inspection that the leg rest shown in Fig. 4 may be pivotably disposed on a cross bar and perform the same functions as the leg rest shown in Figs. l and 2.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a further modified form of my invention in which the leg rest comprises a member 49 having opposed arcuate shaped surfaces 4i and l2 merging at a point 43 on the rear end thereof and merging into the contour lines extending from a circular shaped nose poi'- tion 441 on the forward end thereof. Member 40 has laterally extending shafts or pins 45 for connection to the front legs or seat frame members of a conventional flexibly seated beach chair such as shown in Fig, 1 or to the side frame members of other types of conventional flexibly seated chairs. The leg rest 40 shown in Fig. 5 comprises the front cross frame member itself and is preferably pivotably mounted in order to carry out the spirit of my invention.

Fig. 6 shows a leg rest 60 of the same form as the leg rest shown in Fig. 5 with extending connecting pins or shafts 6| except that the rear end 64 is provided with an open groove to receive the enlarged marginal end 62 of a flexible seating member 63.

Fig. 7 shows an arcuate shaped member 50 bent back upon itself at 5I to receive a spacing member or members 52 to space the cross bar 53 of a flexibly seated chair a predetermined distance from the forward end 5l of the member 50. Although I have shown the member 50 bent back upon itself and then bent upwardly in arcuate form at 54 to nest the cross bar 53,'it will be evident that only a slightly bent portion at the forward end need be provided. Inasmuch as the member 50 is preferably made of a springy-like material, the forward end thereof will bend downwardly to provide a comfortable leg rest.

My invention comprises broadly the provision of a comparatively stiff, arcuate shaped member on a cross bar of a flexibly seated chair or a cross bar member itself arcuate in shape or the provision of a tapered 01 arcuate shaped member utilized in conjunction with a cross bar in the loop of a canvas or cloth seat.

It will be evident that the flexibly seated member may be fastened to my novel leg rest in any suitable manner without departing from my invention.

It will thus be evident from the foregoing de- Number scription that I have provided simple means for converting the present uncomfortable flexibly seated chairs into extremely comfortable chairs wherein the portion of underside of the legs whereon most of the pressure is exerted by the front cross bar of the chair is engaged by an arcuate shaped pivoted member which conforms to the changes in angularity of the flexible seat member and which itself is flexible to further add to the comfort of the person sitting in the chair. My invention is particularly adaptable for use with flexibly seated chairs in which the seat and back of the chair comprise one piece of cloth or canvas connected to a front cross bar member and to a cross bar on a back rest of the chair.

Various changes may be made in the speciflc embodiment of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In combination with a chair having a front cross bar, and a flexible seating member, means to support the rear end of the seating member, said seating member having a looped portion surrounding said cross bar, an arcuate shaped leg rest member disposed in said looped portion and extending rearwardly of said cross-bar, said leg rest member having the forward end thereof turned in circular form for pivotal connection to said cross bar.

2. Incombination with a chair as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leg rest member comprises a comparatively stiff arcuate shaped metal member having the forward end thereof looped for pivotal connection to said front cross bar.

3. A leg rest for a chair having a front cross bar and a flexible seating member, means to support the rear end of the seating member, said seating member having a looped portion surrounding said cross bar, comprising an arcuate shaped member disposed in said looped portion of said flexible seating member and extending rearwardly of said cross bar, said arcuate shaped member being crimped on the rear end thereof and having a turned hook portion on the front lend thereof for pivotal connection to said cross GEORGE C. BRIGGS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Crane July 16, 1861 Von Alten Aug. 26,y 1924 Weller Sept. 6, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date l Australia Jan. 16, 1939 Number 

